Hello, 6 months ago I moved to America from another country. Now I’m a senior in high school and there was a huge change in my life all of a sudden. I want to go to university, but I don’t know what to do. Since I have just come here, I have problems with English and my teachers said that if I want to go to a good school for 4 years, I need to get a high score from the ACT or SAT. These exams are really difficult for students like me who are new to the country and do not speak English, assuming that i have money problem for university, these affairs are looking very difficult for me, and I don’t know what to do. I want to go to a good university, and I am writing here to get an idea about this issue. What would you do if you were me?
There is a path for you but it won’t look exactly like the path most of your fellow students who want go to a good university will be taking.
Prepare to go to a community college near you that you can attend while living with your family, for two years. That way, you have more time to improve your English, and get good grades, while paying much less tuition. And SATs will not count. You can go on to excellent four year universities after community college, your degree will have the name of the university, and you will only have to figure out how to pay the higher tuition for two years.
It really matters which state of the US you live in now because some states make this path easier than others and it may also matter where you are from and what your school record from your old country is like. If you were a good student, you should be able to do well at least in math classes and on the math portion of the SAT.
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Tigerle’s advice is very sound - you should begin looking at community colleges and learn about how that works in your state. If you can tell us what state you are living in, people will be able to give you better advice. (Some states like California have a clear path from community college to the state universities.) It would also help to know what your citizenship/immigration status is, as it is more difficult for international students (which would include students living in the US but not having US citizenship or a green card) to secure financial aid. One way or another, you should be able to achieve your goal. One thing that I often see on CC is students coming from overseas who are dealing with parents who have unreasonable expectations - Ivy colleges only, etc. I am American but I live in an Asian country where there is a clear hierarchy of universities and most top company employees come from only a handful of schools. It’s important to understand that the US system is not like that. In the US, it’s generally much more important how you do than where you go. So starting off in community college, doing well there and moving on to a four-year university is a very viable path to a successful career. From your message, you seem very motivated and proactive, so I am sure you will do fine.
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Your teacher isn’t giving the greatest advice.
You do NOT need a good test score, or any test score, to go to a good college. No test scores are required at community college, and there are now many colleges and universities that do not require test scores. Look at this list of colleges to get some ideas. https://www.fairtest.org/
If you decide you want to take the ACT or SAT, there is a lot of free help online. There’s also a Test Prep subforum here on CC where there is a lot of good advice. But as you say your English isn’t that good, I see no point in wasting a lot of time, and quite possibly a lot of money, preparing for a test that you do not need.
I strongly suggest you attend community college for a couple of years and then transfer. It will improve your English. You are going to need good reading and writing skills in English to succeed at university. There are thousands of good colleges you can transfer into. Attending community college is much less expensive than a four year university and it is a little less challenging than going right to a four year university. I chose to attend community college and then transferred. For me, it was the best decision.
College is very expensive in the US. You need to discuss this with your parents and figure out how you will pay. If you have only been here for six months, you are probably going to have to pay international student fees at any public colleges or universities. It might be much less expensive for you to attend college in your home country.
I suggest you make an appointment to talk to your guidance counselor at school. You might need to take a gap year after you finish high school. You may need to work and save money to help pay for college. Good luck working through your options.
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Is there any way that you can spend another year in high school? If you’re not too old for it, it would be free, and a lower pressure way for you to get in another year of free schooling while you are mastering English. Speak with the school about it now.
If this is absolutely not an option, then plan for going to community college right after high school. Choose one that has a transfer agreement with a good public 4 yr college, preferably your state’s flagship state U. That way, you’ll have a guaranteed acceptance as long as you maintain a decent GPA, which is very possible to do at a community college.
You really don’t need to bother with the SAT or ACT. Even if you were planning to apply to colleges this year, most schools have gone test-optional, so they would look at your grades from your school outside the US and for last semester.
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I live in Nashville/Tennessee now and I came here with Green card. My Father was working at Us Embassy in Turkey that’s why we took green card.
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And thank you for your good advice 
Check out what parentologist suggested - you may be able to repeat a year in high school. That is a frequent solution for teenagers who move from one educational system to another, and for now, it would be the easiest and cheapest solution.
You may, at some point in time, be able to excel in the US system and get great grades and test scores. But that point in time isn’t now, because you are still learning and adjusting. And that’s okay, it’s not your fault, it’s just how your life worked out. You have all the opportunities of the U.S. of A. at your fingertips - but you can’t quite profit from them yet.
Your teacher may have stressed the importance of SATs because colleges in the US may not really know what to make of your high school record, with two years’ worth of Turkish grades and one semester’s worth of US grades, which probably will reflect your struggle to learn English and adjust. But if you feel you would struggle with the SATs as well at this point, they would not help your college application either, and you would probably not be very successful if you tried to apply to 4 year colleges this fall.
Take your time. You may be able to repeat a year in high school. You can live with your family and go to community college, full time or part time, and work to support yourself, and improve your English. And when you’re ready, move on to a four year university and continue to do your best.
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It appears that as a green card holder, you may be able to go to community college tuition free. Check out the Tennessee board of Regents website and the Tennessee promise website. Note that you would have to apply by Nov 2 of your senior year.
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In addition to your high school classes, have you looked into a course for English Language Learners? Some communities offer this as an extension class in the evenings. Some community colleges offer these courses, and around here, they are no cost.
You need time to build strong enough English language skills to take college courses that are taught in English.
Agree…at least look at an additional high school year.
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We have many foreign students who end up successfully going to college, both refugees and recent immigrants. Many have a good work ethic which helps make them successful.
There is the community college option which many use, or, you can look at four year schools directly just as other native born students do. To do the latter without really good English skills, many of these will take a Gap year. Spend it in high school if you can, but it’s also ok to work and just take more English classes - or even do what you can to pick it up from the internet or general life.
The difference between the kids is often their natural talent for academics and their desires for what they want to do for a job post college.
What are yours? Were you top in your classes in Turkey and what are your grades here? Do you go to a top high school, either public or private? If so, see your Guidance Counselor because I feel certain they’ll know what’s best. Talk with your Guidance Counselor anyway, because our school is “average” (in the nation) and ours still get kids into good colleges. That said, not all schools have good counselors, so stick on here for thoughts too.
Then there’s the financial aspect. Talk with your parents and see how much they are willing and able to pay for college without raiding their retirement funds. Colleges can cost 80K per year for full pay students. Your options will range from free at your local community college (if a previous poster was correct) to that 80K. Where do they fit in on the financial scale? Many students are limited by finances, so if you are too, consider yourself in the majority.
For the best advice on here, people will need to know your academic ability to date (grades or similar), your finances, and what you’d like to major in or what field you’d prefer.
ps Try a practice SAT or ACT at home. These can be found online - don’t pay for one! It won’t count for anything to anyone, but could give an insight into where you would fit without any additional work on English. You might surprise yourself, and if you get a good math score, that can also be helpful.
There is no, “one size fits all,” answer to your question.
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First of all, thank you all for your ideas. I learned that I could go to a community college in Nashville for free. The school is called Nashville State Community College. Do you think I should go to this school or if I can, should I stay in this high school for 1 more year? And if I came to my classes, I was always a successful student. When I was in Turkey, I was one of the best in my class, although not in every lesson. Here, in general, all the teachers are satisfied with my performance and say that I am a good student. My math teacher says my math is very good. Anyway, in the ACT practice tests, I can generally do the math section very well, but the other sections really challenge me. Even if the question is easy, I can’t understand some questions and I can’t do the questions that everyone can do true. English and the reading part in general are the ones I have the most difficulty with. If I answered 5 questions in English part, 3 of them turn out to be wrong.
When I was in Turkey, I always dreamed that I went to top class schools like Ivy schools when I came to America, but when I came here and got involved, I realized that things were not as easy as outside. I want to be a software engineer because, I think I have to know computer for doing great things in future
This is good indication that you shouldn’t focus your energy on taking the ACT or SAT. If you can go to community college for free, that is amazing. Please don’t waste money and time on tests. It is not worth it.
I would enquire with your school guidance counselor about another year of high school. Many college students start when they are 19 or 20. I think your reading and writing skills will improve and that can only help you. You may even do so well that you might be able to get a good scholarship if you apply for the Fall of 2024.
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You will need to speak to your guidance counsellor about whether an additional year in high school would be possible and how that would work for you, ie can they offer you math classes at the right level. Map out a plan which classes you would take.
If you were to drop down to junior status now and do another two years in high school, got great grades in advanced math and science classes and at least good grades in regular English and humanities classes, you could then apply to both NSCC with Tennessee Promise and 4 year colleges and just see how admissions and financial aid work out for you.
That’s what a lot of US students have to do, too - apply and then decide based on admissions and finances. The system is much more opaque than in other countries in the world and many kids will not know ahead of time what the best option for them is. You may end up happy with a good scholarship to a good 4 year university, or find that you don’t like or cannot afford your results and decide to do two years at community college for free anyway. The uncertainty is, sadly, built into the system, and immigrants have to come to terms with it.
Not knowing more about your situation than you have told us, I’d always recommend taking another year in high school if possible. It gives you more time to understand the system, improve your English, improve your grades and your test taking skills and will ultimately improve your options.
If, for some reason, another year of high school doesn’t work out, make sure to apply for Tennessee promise at NSCC in time. They offer programs tailored for students who want to move on to university, with classes that will transfer seamlessly at least to Tennessee universities.
You will be okay.
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Are you aiming for Top 20 schools? We don’t know your grades or extracurriculars. While you have gotten nice advice here, why not just try applying test optional?
Here you are an international living in the US- yet there are so many international students from abroad who are going to all sorts of universities in the US and are in much worse of a situation in terms of the English language than you. I personally would try applying to a range of universities test optional, and knowing that getting into a Top 20 is extremely difficult for all people.
If you can do an additional year in high school I can only see it helping you, not hurting. Your English will improve, you’ll have time to look more extensively at colleges, and your family can save up more money.
If not, it will be up to you whether you prefer a Gap Year to do the above, start at a community college looking to transfer, or try applying and see what happens.
How good are your computer skills now? Did you find out at what level your folks can afford college? It’s anonymous here, so offering a range is good enough, not any exact finances, eg, can’t afford anything, can afford 10/20/30/40K annually, can be full pay, etc.
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Here’s another idea. Are you in Nashville right now? If your are, sign up for a free in-person tour of Vanderbilt University. Vanderbilt is an excellent private university in Nashville. (It may cost too much for your family, but the tour is free so don’t worry about that right now.)
After the tour, meet with the people working in the admissions office and ask their advice. They won’t give you an answer of whether they would admit you right now or anything, but they may be able to give you some good advice and tell you a path to get you where you want to go. Tell them that some people have suggested that you try another year of high school to improve your English skills, and some have suggested community college or taking a gap year or applying to a 4 year university right now, and you’re not sure what the best thing to do for you would be. They have students from all over the world and I would guess would have some experience with similar situations.
I’m just suggesting Vanderbilt if you are in Nashville. If another 4 year university like University of Tennessee (in Knoxville) is closer to you go there and ask the same question. The tour will be a good experience for you to see what university is like in the US, too. We did a LOT of tours with our kids and I think it helped a lot to see all the different kinds of universities (big with lots of sport, small with small class sizes, etc).
One thing to remember about going to university/college in the US is that often if students go on to get a graduate degree (a Masters or PhD, etc) they go to a different university. So you could go somewhere like University of Tennessee for your undergraduate degree and then go on to Harvard or Stanford or Vanderbilt or University of Alabama, etc, etc, for your graduate degree.
I will say that your English is certainly way, way, way better than my Turkish (which is zero). You are already way ahead of most Americans since you speak at least two languages.
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As far as community colleges in the Nashville area go, look at Nashville State, Volunteer State, and Motlow State. You could attend those tuition free and then transfer elsewhere.
Another option I would encourage you to consider is Middle Tennessee State University. It’s a four year public university and they have some guaranteed scholarships available (Scholarship Opportunities for First-Time Incoming Freshmen | Middle Tennessee State University) and it’s close enough to Nashville that you could commute. You could start out there and transfer after two years or stay on if you like it and aim higher for grad school (since it’s mostly focused on undergraduate education, the faculty there are very involved with student research and do a good job at helping place students into grad programs elsewhere). They have international sections of English courses you could take in your first year with other international students who are starting degree programs but need extra assistance with English.
You should also take a look and see if you qualify for the Hope Scholarship. With in-state tuition and the Hope scholarship, you can get costs at a four-year public down fairly low.
Best of luck to you! Tennessee definitely has some affordable options you can take advantage of, for sure!
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I honestly don’t think my parents can afford a lot of money because we have just come to this country, and I cannot say that we have still financially taken our normal lives into order. Actually, I will be alone in terms of university. I have to earn money myself and pay it myself. And I have 1 twin sister, she wants to go to good university too.